Bacon's Dozen: Thirteen Historical Fiction Short Stories

by Anna Castle

This collection of short stories ranges through time and space from the Yucatán peninsula in the early years of the Spanish conquest (The Broken Circle) to a bank office in late Victorian London with Professor & Mrs. Moriarty (The Stockbroker’s Wife.)

Most stories feature Francis Bacon and other characters from his milieu. You’ll read about Bacon’s first case (For Want of a Book) and Tom’s first solo investigation (In Walked a Lady.) You’ll find out how Trumpet wangled her year at Gray’s Inn (Artful Bargains) and what really happened to Captain Valentine Clarady (All Englishmen Look Alike.) Sir Walter’s Ralegh and two friends trade ghost stories on a stormy night (Dark Tales from the School of Night.)

You’ll even travel through time by a most unusual method (The Sneeze.) A bonus story brings you into the present, but not quite the present you’re used to (Extinction.)

348 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2020

About the author

Anna Castle writes the Francis Bacon mysteries and the Professor & Mrs. Moriarty mysteries. She has earned a series of degrees -- BA in the Classics, MS in Computer Science, and a Ph.D in Linguistics -- and has had a corresponding series of careers -- waitressing, software engineering, grammar-writing, assistant professor, and archivist. Writing fiction combines her lifelong love of stories and learning. She physically resides in Austin, Texas and mentally counts herself a queen of infinite space.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 - For Want of a Book: A Francis Bacon Mystery Short Story
1586 and Francis Bacon is in desperate need of a book. So he is off to his favourite booksellers - Brooksby and Kellett. Only to discover a disturbed Brooksby who shows Bacon the murdered body of his partner.
2 - The Lost Mine of Don Fernando
Can Luke Turner, trading post owner and Flechas Velarde, Apache Elder, get even with corrupt US government agent, Wilkinson
3 - Artful Bargains
Lady Alice Trumpington at the age of 16 discovers the means to take charge of her life and do what she wants.
4 - Mustard on Velvet
Agnes Merrythought, laundress at Gray's Inn, has a problem. Two in fact, where is her husband, Jack, a carter and what is her daughter up to. She enlists the help of Francis Bacon in tracing her husband but she aims to solve the problem of her daughter Martha before her reputation is ruined.
5 - The Broken Circle
In Conil, Yucaton in 1546 Ix Cahum has learned to survive in her village after many deaths from disease bought on by the invaders, and death of her husband in the many wars between the Mayas.
6 - fraNCIS Bacon - The Shirt
1587, and Trotter the executor of the will of Lady Thursby has found a body in her old home. He calls on Francis Bacon for help. The only evidence to the identity of the body and the events that preceded his death is the shirt he is wearing.
7 - Dark Tales from the School of Night
1591 Sir Walter Ralegh, Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Harriot tell tales of ghosts and other strange beings as they sit in an inn sharing wine.
8 - The Sneeze
Austen, Texas, 2019. Elizathan literacy scholar finds that her sneezes sends her back to late Tudor times. Is it an allergy induced hallicination that lets her meet Henry Claybrook subject of her thesis or is it real.
9 - All Englishman Look Alike
Captain Valentine Clarady is captured and must find a way to escape
10 - Hamlet Reinvestigated
Horatio is asked to investigate the death of Hamlet’s father.
11 - The Stockbroker’s Wife
Richard Barrett, a stockbroker, has been offered a new position at Clements Bank but he is suspicious of the offer. He is encouraged to approach Professor Moriarty for his help. But then Barrett's wife becomes suspicious and ask Sherlock Holmes to investigate.
12 - In Walked a Lady
Tom Clarady, the clerk of Francis Bacon, is approached by Joan Pettwood because her uncle has just died and she is suspicious of the cause of death. Tom investigates but needs the help of Bacon to solve the case.
13 - Extinction
Melody Mockingbird of Austin Druidic Detective Agency investigates the death of jazz singer Gilda Sanger. She must be quick before her memory of the crime disappears. A paranormal mystery.
I enjoyed all the stories, a good collection of varied interesting stories, all well-written.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3 stars. Entertaining collection of short stories; some connected to the author's Francis Bacon historical mystery series.

[Amber Foxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection is a must-read for fans of the Francis Bacon mysteries. Some of the short works are mysteries featuring Bacon. Others star major characters from the series, and one features the woman who does his laundry. My favorite series-linked short is All Englishmen Look Alike, not only for the colorful adventure, but for what it reveals that the main characters in the books don’t know. Yet.
The short works not related to the Bacon series are also historical with one exception. They range from the tale of a Mayan beekeeper coping with the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico to a Western caper set in northern New Mexico on Jicarilla Apache land. There’s also a sample Moriarty mystery, a chance to discover Castle’s other historical series. The non-historical exception is Extinction, a mystery with a subtle paranormal touch set in modern Austin TX. The Sneeze is a hybrid of modern Texas and Elizabethan England. If you’ve ever experienced the pollen of the Southwest in early spring, you’ll appreciate this one. Or if you’ve ever gotten lost in your research.
I strongly recommend this collection for an intelligent, original escape from 2020. (I finished it in Nov. 2020. And I read the Nook edition, as I do with all books, an option Goodreads seems to think does not exist.)

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful collection of stories!
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2020

This is a fabulous collection of stories featuring some familiar characters and some new ones. The stories are quick to read but packed to the brim with action and mystery. I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

[William N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sad.

I just realized that Anna Castle has passed on to that great library in the sky. No more tales about Francis Bacon from her talented quill. I will miss her and her fabulous imagination. As for this book, well, its another example of that great talent that will keep me imagining for years what would happen to Bacon, Tom, and Trumpet.

[Alan Lampe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of the short stories in this collection feature Francis Bacon, Tom Clarady, or Alice Trumpington. A few are set in the same time period, but not all. The last one is set in modern day Austin, Texas. The stories are good and gives the reader a little more information about the Francis Bacon characters. I enjoyed these stories.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly fine short mystery stories. Not anything particularly enticing to pick up a full length novel of these characters tho. The Lady Trumpington character was the most interesting, but was a character trope that I’ve read hundreds of times before

[Dawn Barnhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good shorts

The bacon's dozen 13shorts each of these stories give a great glimpse into the worlds she writes in and really enjoyed each of them with the Elizabethean ones being my favourite

[Faith Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of short stories from Ms. Castle. Most deal with her secondary characters from the Bacon series, but a few outliers are thrown in. Good for bedtime or commute reading.